Thrombocytopenia is a common effect of cytotoxic chemotherapy regimens in cancer patients, often necessitating reduction or delay in subsequent cycles. While the thrombocytopenia typically resolves with time, a subset of patients with chemotherapy-induced thrombocytopenia (CIT) have prolonged thrombocytopenia, of idiopathic etiology, that interferes with subsequent treatment.

Chief of the Hematology and Thrombosis Service Gerald Soff describes the use of weekly romiplostim in patients who had prolonged isolated thrombocytopenia beyond anticipated recovery from chemotherapy-induced platelet nadir. No resistance to romiplostim was observed, and no patient required subsequent delay or reduction of chemotherapy due to thrombocytopenia. In all patients, platelets rose to greater than 100K/mcL two to four weeks from initiation of romiplostim.